Saturday program sessions will run from 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., including the Celebration Banquet which starts immediately after Maghrib. Banquet doors open at 7:00 p.m.

Event Highlights

Main Sessions

MSA and MYNA Sessions

Saturday Night Banquet (included in conference registration)

Honoring Dr. Inayat Malik and ICGC Rahma Community Services

Keynote Speaker: Wajahat Ali

Guest Speaker Dr. Sayyid Syeed

Entertainment by Raef

Bazaar

Childcare

Confirmed Speakers

Shakila T Ahmad is president and board chair of the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati (ICGC), being the first female to serve in this capacity for such an American Islamic institution, and an enthusiastic community leader who has dedicated herself to numerous civic and community causes for over 20 years. She simultaneously has had a busy professional career and serves as the director of management at the Allergy & Asthma Specialty Center. Ahmad has or currently serves on the executive board of directors of the United Way of Greater Cincinnati, YWCA Cincinnati as Racial Justice Vice Chair, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, the Ohio Humanities Council, University of Cincinnati Foundation and the President’s Advisory Council at Xavier University. Ahmad established the Center’s Tours and Talks education and outreach program which has reached over 80,000 face to face to teach about Islam and American Muslims and spearheaded the “A Visit to a Mosque in America” educational DVD.

Wajahat Ali is a journalist, writer, lawyer, an award-winning playwright, a TV host, and a consultant for the U.S. State Department. As Creative Director of Affinis Labs, he works to create social entrepreneurship initiatives that have a positive impact for marginalized communities, and to empower social entrepreneurs, young leaders, creatives, and communities to come up with innovative solutions to tackle world problems. Beginning in early 2017, Affinis Labs will launch a global startup incubator network, aimed at identifying and fostering “emerging entrepreneurial talent from around the world that understands what makes the global Islamic economy special.”

Azhar Azeez, ISNA President, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from the prestigious Osmania University and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA). He currently serves as the Senior National Director of Islamic Relief USA. He is a member of ISNA Executive Council since 2002, served as the Vice President of ISNA twice from 2010-2014. He was elected as the President of ISNA in 2014 and was re elected to his second term in 2016.

Ubaydullah Evans is ALIM’s first Scholar-in-Residence and now Executive Director. He converted to Islam while in high school. Upon conversion, Ustadh Ubaydullah began studying some of the foundational books of Islam under the private tutelage of local scholars while simultaneously pursuing a degree in journalism from Columbia. Since then he has studied at Chicagoland’s Institute of Islamic Education (IIE), in Tarim, Yemen, and Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, where he is the first African-American to graduate from its Shari’a program. Ustadh Ubaydullah also instructs with the Ta’leef Collective and the Inner-City Muslim Action Network.

Yasmin Mogahed is known for her gift of captivating an entire audience with her thoughts and insightful reflections. She is a Psychology graduate, and attained her Masters in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As a skilled creative writer, her literature speaks from the heart and after completing her graduate work; she taught Islamic Studies and served as a youth coordinator. Currently she’s a writer for the Huffington Post, an international speaker, and author who focuses most of her work on spiritual and personal development.

Sheikh Hossam Musais the Imam of Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati in West Chester, OH. He previously servedas the Imam of Noor Islamic Cultural Center in Columbus, Ohio; as the Principal of the Muslim Unity Center Sunday School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; and as the Youth Directorand Quran Teacher for the Muslim Unity Center. He was a teacher and Director of the Qur’an, Arabic, and Islamic Studies Department at Huda School in Franklin, Michigan for ten years prior to moving to Dublin.

Sheikh Hossam completed memorization (Hafiz) of the Holy Qur’an at the age of 13 and earned a certificate (Ijazah) with the Highest Chain of Narration. He has been the Imam for Taraweeh prayers since 1993 at various Masajid throughout metro Detroit and Windsor including the Tawheed Center Farmington Hills, the Tawheed Center Dearborn, Masjid Al-Fatiha, Muslim Unity Center, American Muslim Center-Dearborn, and Noor Islamic Cultural Center-Columbus, Ohio and Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati-West Chester, Ohio.

Sheikh Hossam represented the United States in the International Holy Quran Competition in Makkah, KSA in 1997. In 1998, he represented the United States in the International Holy Quran Competition in Dubai, UAE. He also represented the United States in the International Holy Quran Competition in Moscow, Russia in 2012.

Sheikh Hossam Musa graduated with a Bachelors degree from The University of Michigan-Dearborn School of Engineering in 2004. He is currently enrolled at Mishkah University where he is pursuing further studies in Islamic Jurisprudence and Arabic.

Sheikh Hossam lives in West Chester, Ohio. He enjoys gardening, fishing, hunting, cooking, and spending time with family and friends. He loves to travel and is an avid foodie.

Habeeb Quadri is the Principal of the MCC Full Time School in Morton Grove, IL. He has a Bachelor in Teaching of History and a Masters in School Administration. He currently is taking a few courses a year at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education – Principal Center, where he has accumulated more than 300 clock hours of instruction and works as part-time staff in their professional development programs. In addition to his teaching and administrative experience in public and private schools, Quadri has delivered hundreds of lectures throughout the United States, Canada and abroad on Islam, society, and social problems confronting Muslim youth and the community at large for the last 15 years. Additionally, Quadri maintains an active interest in education consulting. He has started his own educational consulting company called High Quality Educational Consulting. Quadri has conducted workshops for the U.S Department of State, weekend and full-time Islamic schools, public schools and universities around the world. His company had partnered up with IQRA Foundation to write and initiate the first Islamic Standardize Islamic Studies Test partnering up with Riverside Publishing the makers of the famous national IOWA TEST. Quadri was also a member of the DePaul University, College of Education Dean Advisory Board for the last three years and is currently on the National Advisory Board for MYNA (Muslim Youth of North America) and for CISNA (Council of Islamic School of North America).

ImamSuleiman Hani is a lecturer and author hailing from Dearborn, Michigan. At the age of 14, he completed a 10-month Qur’an memorization program in the USA and shortly thereafter began his intensive studies under local and global scholars, completing hundreds of classical and modern texts and gaining ijazāt (licenses) in the six books of hadīth from multiple scholars, as well as a Master of Arts degree from the University of Jordan’s College of Shari’ah at the top of his class. Suleiman has served as an Imam and youth director since the age of 19, lectured at conferences and workshops around the world, and has recorded several comprehensive series with the largest Islamic TV stations worldwide. Imam Suleiman recently authored a popular book on the subject of memorizing the Qur’an which has since been translated into several languages. He presently serves as an instructor and researcher at various educational and humanitarian institutions, the CEO of several business ventures, and an Imam and Resident Scholar in Michigan. His most recent hobbies include mixed martial arts, skydiving, archery, and traveling.

Ahmad H. Saqr completed his undergraduate degree at the Ohio State University He has an extensive history of developing youth during his time in Columbus, Oh. Currently, he has the privilege of being the youth coordinator of ICGC. During his time at ICGC, he has reinvented several of the programs, while instating several new initiatives.

Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed is Senior Advisor and Former National Director of ISNA’s Office of Interfaith and Community Alliances in Washington, DC. He served for 12 years (1994-2006) as Secretary General of the Indiana-based national umbrella organization, which has more than 300 affiliates all over the U.S. and Canada. Dr. Syeed he served as President of the Muslim Students Association (MSA) of USA & Canada and pioneered its transformation into the modern day American religious organization Islamic Society of North America. From 1984-1988, he was Secretary General of the International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations (IIFSO) and traveled widely in this capacity through the former Soviet Union, Europe, Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and South America. Dr. Syeed has also been General Secretary of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS), a national professional organization founded in 1972. Dr. Syeed was one of the founders of the American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences (AJISS) and served as Editor and then Editor-in-Chief (1984-1994). During his tenure there, AJISS grew into a quarterly publication, and today AJISS has acquired a respectable niche in academia and is quoted with recognition in professional and scholarly research. Dr. Syeed was also Chairman of the Editorial Board of Islamic Horizons, the flagship magazine of ISNA, from 1982 to 1984 and 1994 to 2006.